The Octogenarian.

On Monday I joined the ranks of the octogenarians.

To quote Theodore Roosevelt, ““Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you’ve got to start young.”

Like everyone else, I started developing old age at a young time in my life. However, right now my mind which thinks it is still eighteen, is having a harder time dragging my body along with it.

On Monday evening, my family here in the Comox valley laid on a special treat for me. We all went for dinner and drinks at the Church Street Taphouse, the pub which is one third owned by my son Ben.

Left, going clockwise: Jo, (Andi’s mum), my son Tim, me with the birthday hat, grandson Oliver, son Ben, Josée (Ben’s wife), Lise, (Josée’s mum) and Andi, (Tim’s wife) Below are some other magnificent pics of us.

We had a wonderful meal and a drink supplemented by lots of laughter and good fellowship.

Following the meal, we drove back to my home where we all shared birthday cakes, one regular cake and one an ice-cream cake.

I opened my gifts which were super, but one which grabbed my heart was this picture of the local Comox Glacier which Ben and Josée kindly re-gifted to me from Ben’s office. It means a lot to me, for it shows the highest peak, on the right hand side of the picture. This was where my good friend Chris dispersed half of Cynthia’s ashes from his plane. (The other half is now in Wales)

The whole evening was a beauty! I enjoyed having the clan around me. See for yourself below what a fine group they are.

It was a marvellous day! How blessed I am to be surrounded by such a loving, caring group of people. As I leave you now, I’d like to share some profound thoughts from two people much smarter than I.

“Aging seems to be the only available way to live a long life.” Kitty O’Neill Collins

“By the time you’re 80 years old you’ve learned everything. You only have to remember it.” George Burns

The latter in particular strikes home with me. ‘Bye for now and God bless.